Woche 26: Weihnachten Konferenz

Liebe Mutter,

First, can you add the video He is The Gift to this entry? As well as The Nativity.

I cannot believe that I am about to hit my six month mark! Man, time is flying by! But every moment is so worth it. I can feel the power behind this calling. I can also feel the power behind the prayers sent to me and others as missionaries. Thank you so much!

I haven't found my bag yet, but we will be going to DB today to try and find it. So I will update you next on whether I need new scriptures or not.


So this week we come in contact with two new people to meet. We also found 2 new potentials. So this coming week, we will have 6 singles, 2 couples, and a family we will be teaching. The Lord truly is harvesting Schwenningen.

I for sure remember Zach! I can't believe he is finally leaving. I remember when all my friends got their mission calls and now they are leaving!

Woche 26: Weihnachten Konferenz

Montag

Well, Monday was fun. We took a nap and then went shopping. And then I bought a new suit because it was cheap and it fits really well. After that adventure, we went to the Family Schwarwälder's house. They are such an awesome family. They fed us an amazing taco salad. It tasted so good. And then we shared a spiritual thought. IT was a story out of the December 2013 Liahona. It talked about how our Heavenly Father knows us personally as well as our desires. Then we talked about how we can help our friends experience the gifts we receive from Him.

Dienstag

Tuesday, we had the wonderful opportunity to go to Züich and have our Christmas Conference. Well everything worked out until we printed off our tickets and we only had a ticket that could get us to Schaffhausen. So we went to Singen and met the Singen Sisters there. They for some reason had a four person ticket all the way there and back, but were only two people. So we went to Schaffhausen and tried to figure out this ticket situation. Unfortunately, Elder Thomas and Elder Bowler took too long I guess and missed the train. So it was just Elder Wilkins and I with the Singen and Schaffhausen Sisters and the Schaffhausen Elders. We made it to the Church just fine, but the other Elders were close to a hour late. But the conference was amazing. President and Sister Kohler gave amazing talks about Christmas. Sister Kohler expounded on the Church's Christmas initiative. She talked about how we need to discover the gift. Learn about His life and ministry. Read about His birth as well as His Atonement. We then need to embrace the gift. We need to accept His power to clean us from our sins. We need to accept His power to help us change and overcome obstacles. And finally, we need to share this gift. Good thing we are missionaries, because that part is easy for us! But as easy as it may be, we need to Humble ourselves to become as effective as we can be, because there is always room for improvement. We then had the opportunity to see the new fireside that will be starting in our mission and with our wards and stakes. In the middle, we had a wonderful meal provided by the FHV. And we also had a small gift exchange. Then we eventually got our packages and then had to journey back home. Oh, and we also got patches of our mission logo! So cool.

Getting his Christmas packages!  Not sure who the two Elders in front are.

Mittwoch

Wednesday, Elder Thomas and I drove all the way to München! It was roughly 264 km(164 miles) to get there. It took us about 3 hours and 35 minutes. It was a long ride. But we got there and received a new car! Yes! While we were there, we picked up our packages as well. And some new cards that go along with the new Christmas initiative. And one of the members there took us out for Dinner. Elder Thomas knew him from before when he was Zone Leader in München. I had an amazing Cordon Blea. Or however you spell it, haha.  After that, we had to make a long journey home. The ride was 321 km(199 miles) back. Unfortunately, there was a ton of traffic. And because of the traffic, we missed our exit. So we got stuck in stand still traffic. We eventually made off our new exit, but then we ran into a lot of construction which slowed us down. So what was supposed to be a 3 hour and 5 minute drive,  took us 5 and half hours, close to 6 hours. That was way too long!

Donnerstag

Thursday is where we were able to start the missionary work. We had a lesson with a less active in a place called Gutmadingen. So we decided to leave early and go dooring. While we were there, we actually met two people who had interest in this Christmas message and wanted us to come back. After that, we went and had a lesson with Brother Prinzwald. We watched the video and then discussed what it meant and how we can "Share the Gift". The lesson was pretty good. Afterwards we went to see "J". He asked us to explain Christmas and some of the traditions involved. He told us this was his very first Christmas ever, because he used to not be Christian. So we explained Christmas and showed some traditions we use to celebrate it. We ended by watching the video and inviting him to experience the true meaning of Christmas. We asked him to read the Christmas story contained within the Bible, as well as the accounts Nephi and other Prophets give in the Book of Mormon.

Freitag

Friday was fun as always! We helped a sister in our ward named Sister Steidle. She is 94 and decided to take a bus all the way up to Berlin. Now those of you who don't know how far south we are in Germany, the bus takes a little over 11 hours to arrive in Berlin. That is a long bus ride. But, she is visiting her Sister, and it may be the last time. So it is a well needed sacrifice and visit. This coming Friday we will welcome Sister Steidle home. And then we went home and planned for the week. Fun, but we accomplished a lot.

Samstag

Saturday we had our first exchange of the transfer. I was with Elder Bowler in my area. So we planned to go to Villingen We taught a couple who are from Russia (Russland in German). They are so sweet. She has such a love for the Bible and God. I only pray that she will have a desire to become closer to Him. We talked a little bit about the Restoration and the First Vision. Afterwards, we went by on some people, but unfortunately they weren't home. However, that doesn't stop us. We left some notes for them and tried talking to people on the way.

Sonntag

Sunday was amazing as always. "J" came to all three hours of church yesterday! I can see how much his countenance changes when he comes. We met with a GML(ward mission leader) and looked through the ward list. We developed a plan on how to "clean out the list. Many people on our list live and go to other wards and some people just don't exist. And then we had a wonderful Sacrament Meeting. It is always a good experience to renew covenants and start our week with a new slate. Afterwards, we went to a member's house who is home bound. We learned a little bit about him. And then we discussed how he can share the Gift of Christ. He was on fire. He had some awesome ideas and even asked for some pass along cards!

Well, I know that this is the church led by Christ. I know that we have a living Prophet who leads and guides us in the journey of life. I know that in this time of ever growing darkness, we can find comfort and the light, in Him, who is Christ. I know that during this time of excitement of Christmas and presents and Santa, it all comes back to Him who gives a way back to our loving Heavenly Father. 

Ich liebe dich!